Twenty-five years after Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest son Zhu Biao fell ill and died, and ten years later, Zhu Di, the King of Yan, invaded Nanjing, ousted his nephew Emperor Jianwen, and seized the throne. Zhu Biao is Zhu Di's eldest brother, "friendly to others", very good to his brothers, "the number of kings has been, and zhu Di has also been cared for". Now that Zhu Di is emperor, how will he treat the descendants of his eldest brother?
According to historical records, Zhu Biao had six sons and four daughters, of whom the eldest son, sixth son, and third daughter all died prematurely. Emperor Jianwen was Zhu Biao's second son, and his whereabouts were unknown after the attack on Nanjing. At the same time, Emperor Jianwen's eldest son, Zhu Wenkui, also disappeared. Emperor Jianwen's second son, Zhu Wengui, was two years old at the time and was placed under house arrest in Fengyang.
At that time, Zhu Wengui was known as the "Jianshu people" and had been imprisoned for more than fifty years, until he was released when Emperor Mingyingzong was restored. Not long after his release, Zhu Wengui died, but from the analysis of literature, Zhu Wengui should have descendants, but they were still imprisoned within the high wall.
Zhu Yunxi (tēng) was the third son of Zhu Biao, who was created king of Wu by Emperor Jianwen. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he first demoted him to the title of King of Guangze, and a few months later deposed him as a Shuren and imprisoned in Fengyang, then known as "Wu Shuren". In the fifteenth year of Yongle, there was a rebellion by King Gu, and Zhu Di immediately made a decision and directly killed Zhu Yunxi to avoid future troubles. However, Zhu Yunxi also has descendants and has been locked up.
When Emperor Ming Yingzong released the "Jianshu people", the life of the "WuShu people" family was also improved, "every month, the division of the order and food rice 25 stones, 30 catties of firewood, 300 catties of charcoal." Zhu Yunxi, the fourth son of Zhu Biao, was in the same situation as Zhu Yunxi, who was first demoted by Zhu Di, then deposed as a Shuren, imprisoned, and finally died in the high walls of Fengyang. However, Zhu Yunxi seems to have no descendants.
Zhu Yunxi was Zhu Biao's fifth son, who was only 12 years old at the time, and was not an adult at all, and Zhu Di could not put him on charges. Therefore, Zhu Di ordered Zhu Yunxi to be the King of Ouning, and sent Zhu Yunxi and his mother to live in the tomb of Prince Yiwen. In the fourth year of Yongle, Zhu Yunxi's residence suddenly caught fire.
There are two theories about Zhu Yunxi's death, the first is that he and his mother were directly burned to death by the fire; the second is that Zhu Yunxi was panicked and accidentally fell to the ground, "long and su", so Zhu Di sent an imperial doctor to treat the disease, but he was cured. Either way, we should be relatively clear about the truth, and Zhu Yunxi's death is directly related to Zhu Di. At just 16 years old, Zhu Yunxi had no descendants.
After talking about Zhu Biao's sons, let's talk about his daughters. It stands to reason that power struggles should not involve innocent women. For example, after Li Shimin launched the Xuanwumen Rebellion, he killed all the sons of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, but did not affect their daughters. Li Shimin still took good care of these nieces, and in order to choose a husband, he married under the scenery. However, Zhu Di couldn't manage that much!
The first to die was Zhu Biao's eldest daughter, Princess Jiangdu. As we all know, Geng Bingwen once led an army to conquer Zhu Di, and princess Jiangdu's husband was Geng Xuan, the son of Geng Bingwen, the Marquis of Changxing. The year after Zhu Di became emperor, Geng Bingwen was impeached and "committed suicide in fear of sin". At the same time, several of Geng Bingwen's sons also died, and Princess Jiangdu was forced to commit suicide.
The lord of Yilun County was Zhu Biao's second daughter, and there is only one record of her, "Yongle married in the fifteenth year of marriage". The lord of Nanping County was the younger daughter of Zhu Biao, and the history books recorded that "unmarried, Yongle ten years, chasing the book". "The male eldest should be married, and the female eldest should be married", even Zhu Di's younger daughter was married in the ninth year of Yongle, but the two county lords have never married. When the lord of Yilun County got married, he was about thirty years old, while the lord of Nanping County was not married until he was in his twenties, and finally he was depressed.
Resources:
1. History of Ming Dynasty; 2. Records of Emperor Ming Taizong; 3. Records of Emperor Ming Yingzong